Jagran Film Festival awakens us to some great cinema Back after a three-year hiatus, prompted by the Coronavirus Covid 19, Jagran Film Festival (JFF) stuck to its base in Mumbai, the Cinépolis multiplex. It was held on four days, 12, 13, 14 and 15 October, 2023. JFF is one of the largest travelling film festivals in the world, and, probably, the only one of its kind in India. The International Film Festival of India, under the name Filmotsav, used to be held at different venues every a...

Vijayanand, Review: All Vijay, No Anand You might be pardoned for mistaking the film to be a bio-pic on the genius Hindi film director, Vijay Anand (Guide, Jewel Thief, Johnny Mera Naam). But that can only arise out of ignorance, for if you have read anything about the film or seen a poster or video, you will be aware that this is nothing like a Vijay Anand bio-pic. It is, in fact, a docu-drama about a family in Karnataka that started with the printing industry and the next generation went in...

Chup: Revenge of the Artist, Review: Critickill analysis Film critics, run for cover! Better still, seek police protection. Take a cue from the one renowned film critic already has police protection, and comes to our press previews with an armed escort, in uniform. The reason for this shield is not known to me. But all the other reviewers are mere mortals, some senior, some junior and some newbies. Some of them are well paid, some are paid much less than what they deserve, some are well-to-do...

Trailer success meet and song launch of Major: Lookout, big fish, here comes the goldfish Three big, real BIG pictures are on the verge of release, simultaneously. Two are from the South, and one from Mumbai. Anybody who has been following release schedules will know that these three are Prithviraj from Yash Raj Films, KamalHaasan’s Vikram and a major film from Hyderabad, called, Major. I wonder whether the other two have been shown to anybody except the most selected of selective audie...

Operation Romeo, Review: Regaining consciousness and recharging consciences When Neeraj Pandey, of A Wednesday fame, is co-producing a film, and it is titled Operation Romeo, you expect a taut thriller of the terrorist/spy genre. But Operation Romeo takes the ‘Operation’ part of its title to mean a set of planned moves by an individual, bereft of any spy/terrorist inclinations, though there is a crime of sorts involved, and some scenes do go for your jugular. ‘Romeo’ i...

KGF Chapter 2: Cinépolis IMAX, Seawoods, Navi Mumbai to be launched with Yash-starrer One ‘crazy’ fan, a man apparently in his late twenties, stood outside the Seawoods Grand Central in Navi (New) Mumbai, belting out dialogue from KGF 1 and expressing his absolute devotion to the lead actor, Yash. He said he had travelled all the way from Varanasi, a distance of 1,500 kms, to meet the superstar, and would not go away until he got a chance to meet Yash. This was happening on...

Minnal Murali, Review: Two bolts from the blue Minnal Murali’s première at the Mumbai Film Festival, on 16 December, was a grand affair. The venue was the recently constructed Jio World Drive in Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla Complex, and drinks and snacks were waiting for those who arrived early. The cast and crew were present too. Viewing the film came with an embargo that no reviews should be posted before December the 24th, the day of its release directly through the streaming p...

Pushpa-The Rise – Part 1, Review: Cross your legs Having steadfastly kept away from the staple diet of Telugu dubbed in Hindi dished out on a few TV channels 24 x 7, one was not aware of what one was in for when one went to see the press preview of Pushpa at the invitation of a major, local PR agency, albeit with a notice of 11 hours. Firstly, an eponymous film, the title is an abbreviation of PushpaRaj. Pushpa, by itself, means a flower, and is feminine. You might be pardoned for recal...

IFFI 51, 16-24 January, 27: “OTT is here to stay”: G.P. Vijayakumar “There was a big opposition when OTT made its initial appearance citing that it will end theatrical releases and shut movie businesses. However, the traditional film industry, theatres and blockbuster movies will continue to stay despite OTT and TV channels being around. They only complement the entertainment business of cinema financially, making it more lucrative.  The viewership on OTT is ever increa...

IFFI 51, 16-24 January, 23: John Mathew Matthan talks about Sarfarosh-2 “I have travelled all over India in search of content for my films”. “It is important for any film-maker to understand the elements of sociology and politics”. “I think a writer or director should be sensitive about the society. You can put across your point without being offensive to anyone”. These are the words of John Mathew Matthan, Chairperson of IFFI 51 Indian Panorama Jury, an...

IFFI 51, Goa, January 16-24, 2021, 07: South Indian component of the Indian Panorama The glad tidings for the South Indian fans is that nine remarkable and appreciated South Indian films are selected to be featured at the Indian Panorama of IFFI, in which six feature, two mainstream cinema and one non-feature will be showcased. Here is a list of selected South Indian Movies FEATURED FILMS: Safe (Malayalam) Director – Pradeep Kalipurayath Synopsis – A social activist called Ar...

IFFI 51, 2021, Goa, 16-24 January, 03: Minister Javadekar announces the selection of films in the Indian Panorama Information and Broadcasting Minister of the Government of India, Prakash Javadekar has announced the selection of 23 Feature and 20 non-feature films in Indian Panorama for the 51st International Film Festival of India, IFFI. The I&B Ministry organises the annual festival, through its Directorate of Film Festivals, along with the Government of Goa, in Panaji Goa. The annual ...

IFFI 50, XII: Rajinikanth to be Icon of Golden Jubilee Union (Central Government) Information & Broadcasting Minister, Prakash Javadekar, announced on November 02 that, “In recognition of his outstanding contribution to Indian cinema, during the past several decades, I am happy to announce that the award for the ‘Icon of the Golden Jubilee of IFFI 2019’ is being conferred on cine-star Shri. S. RajiniKanth”, said Javadekar. Carpenter-turned-porter-turned-bus conduc...

IFFI 50, VIII: Debut Film Competition entries announced The 50th International Film Festival of India announced the seven films in Debut Competition section of the festival. The festival, which has been a launch pad to several film-makers over the past 66 years, aims at bringing forth the best first time film-makers of the year in this section. Algerian film Abou Leila, directed by Amin Sidi-Boumedine, Korean film Romang, by LEE Chang-geun, Romanian film Monsters, by Mar...

The Zoya Factor, Review: Cricket superstitions, and bowling a ‘maiden’ over It’s a romantic comedy about cricket, superstition and finding your soulmate after several heart-breaks. Strange bedfellows? Not if you know your cricket, appreciate the quirky beliefs of cricketers and can empathise with a woman who has been dumped several times, yet dreams of finding Mr. Right very soon. All three angles are developed substantially, yet something is missing. Perhaps, unlike all the...

Badshaah Pahelwan, Review: There’s a brown wrestler in the boxing ring, tra la la la la When director of photography S. Krishna turned producer just over two years ago, vicariously, through his wife, Swapna, having directed two action genre films, he decided to make his third film in nine Indian languages. Down the line, he settled for five, with the original in his native Kannada, and dubbed versions in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. Rather ambitious of Krishna, considering the fi...

16th Third Eye Asian Film Festival: XI Sixteen years is a long time in the life of a film festival. It seems an even bigger achievement when you consider the upheavals that the Third Eye Asian Film Festival has undergone during its tenure. In fact, it is a miracle that it has continued, against all odds. Asian Film Foundation, headed by Kiran Shantaram, son of late V. Shantaram, remains the driving force, as does Sudhir Nandgaonkar, journalist and a bunch of teenage students pool in their res...